Reporters on the Job

January 7, 2008

• Star-struck: At a recent press conference in Nairobi, Kenya, staff writer Scott Baldauf was faced with a dilemma (see story). "You need to talk with several people, all of whom seem to be making for the exits. But across the room, you see a woman who happens to be one of your favorite authors on Africa," Scott says. "What do you do?"

Scott had caught sight of Michela Wrong, a British reporter who has written two books: "I Didn't Do It for You," on the Eritrean-Ethiopian war, and "In the Footsteps of Mr. Kurtz," about the last days of Zairian President Mobutu Sese Seko. "When she was about to duck out, I moved fast and told her how much I enjoyed her work, in that embarrassing way that you do when you meet, say, George Clooney on the street."

Scott says she was quite gracious to her fan – maybe because he restrained himself and didn't ask for her autograph.

•Wednesday, Jan. 9:London – British Guantánamo resident appears before extradition hearing.Accra, Ghana – Sentencing scheduled for two British teenage girls found guilty in November of trying to smuggle cocaine out of Ghana in laptop bags.